London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Jack Wilshere believes if Arsenal were to sign England team-mate Wayne Rooney it would strike fear into the hearts of their Barclays Premier League title rivals.

Funds of more than £75million are understood to be available for manager Arsene Wenger as he aims to pull together a squad capable of mounting a long overdue sustained assault on the championship. Rooney asked to leave Manchester United at the end of last season but it remains to be seen how the situation will develop with the arrival of new manager David Moyes, his former boss at Everton.

Speaking in a question and answer session with www.espnfc.com, Wilshere said: "If it happens, it would be amazing. He (Rooney) is the type of player who can win you trophies - and just to see his name on the team sheet brings fear to the opposition. We could do with a little more of that."

The Gunners are set to be busy in the summer transfer window, with the confirmation of the free transfer of France Under-21 attacker Yaya Sanogo set to be shortly confirmed now his contract with Auxerre has expired.

Arsenal have also been linked with Real Madrid's £25million-rated forward Gonzalo Higuain and Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini, who would, like Rooney, both command significant wages.

Wilshere, 21, believes the calibre of players now likely to be brought in by Arsenal shows they mean business on the pitch.

He added: "You look at the type of players like Higuain we are trying to bring in and you have got to be encouraged. I think we need a few more, not to step right into the team, but to add to the squad.

"We need our squad to be as deep as United's and (Manchester) City's. They can change their back four completely and still win. There is no way United would have won the Premier League trophy with 18 players.

"It is no secret we need to win a trophy. How long has it been now, seven or eight years?

"The players feel the pressure and we have gotten close a few times like with the Carling Cup a couple of years ago. I think once we win one, others will follow."